How to Become a Bodyguard and Find Bodyguard Training, Schools, Jobs, and Careers

What is a Bodyguard?
If you watched the movie “The Bodyguard” starring Kevin Costner and
Whitney Houston, you have an idea what a bodyguard does. In this movie,
Kevin Costner plays a bodyguard hired to protect a famous music and
movie star played by Whitney Houston.

In a nutshell, bodyguards are personal protection specialists. In
fact, this is the name most of them prefer these days. They are hired to
protect famous people, like business executives, politicians,
celebrities, diplomats, etc. These personal protection specialists
perform a variety of duties for their clients, including:

1. Planning their client’s arrival and departure to minimize
risks. This would involve planning alternative routes and exits in case
of trouble.

2. Training their client on survival skills that helps them in times of danger.

4. Engaging in physical and verbal confrontation with those that threaten their client.

5. Screening visitors that want to have access to their client.

6. Constantly watch their client for any signs of danger around them.

7. Etc.

As you can see, this is a job for the most attentive people. Any
slip up could lead to a bad result for your client. Along with this bad
result, may also go the reputation of the bodyguard. This is a
profession where you don’t want a bad reputation or you may never get
another client.

How to Become a Bodyguard:
Those looking for bodyguard jobs will need bodyguard training to become
successful personal protection specialists. Below are the skills you
need to have:

1. Self Defense Skills, like Martial Arts
2. Decision Making Skills Under Pressure
3. Physical Strength, Stamina, and Endurance
4. Good Vision to Spot Danger
5. Communication, Negotiation, and People Skills
6. Emergency Handling Skills, like CPR
7. Social Skills to Blend in with Different People
8. Etc.

As you can see, these are a lot of skills to acquire. There is
one training that comes close to equipping people with these skills. It
is the law enforcement or military training. This is why most personal
protection specialists are ex police and military officers.

But you definitely don’t have to be an ex police or military
officer to become a bodyguard. You can get law enforcement training to
acquire most of the above skills. While doing that, you can take self
defense classes to acquire self defense skills. This will also help get
you in shape.

Bodyguard Salary:
Personal protection specialists’ pay varies a great deal. It depends on
who hires you and how valuable they think you are to them. It may also
depend how rich the person that hires you is. We are sure somebody like
Bill Gates pays top dollars to get the best of the best protecting him
and his family.

But the low end pay for a bodyguard seems to be about $30,000 per
year. The high end pay exceeds $100,000 per year. This is a lot of
moolah!